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Tau Volantis
Tau Volantis was a planet of importance to the events of Dead Space 3. Tau Volantis was presumed to be the source of the alien lifeform and the Marker first encountered on Aegis VII and [[USG Ishimura|USG Ishimura]]. History |-|Introduction= Two million years ago Tau Volantis was the home of an unidentified race of aliens. Long ago it was a planet of water, its inhabitants appearing semi-aquatic in nature. Not dissimilar to the inhabitants of Earth, the aliens discovered a Marker and soon thereafter began to create copies of the Marker in a move to harvest its energy. They worshiped the Marker and fell under its thrall. The combined power of Markers and the inhabitants who've fallen victim to its control triggers a Convergence Event.Dead Space 3: Chapter 14: Everything Has Its Place However, what few may have resisted the call of the Marker created a Codex which would work in conjunction with a terraforming machine. Their efforts are only half successful: the halt of the Convergence Event deep freezes the planet into a frozen wasteland, leaving the final life cycle of the Necromorph life form, a sentient moon, incomplete and semi-dormant.Dead Space 3: Chapter 14: Everything Has Its Place Two million years later, in 2311 a faction known as the Sovereign Colonies discover that the signal being perpetuated by their own Markers comes from the lost planet itself. In the face of losing the Secession War to Earth Government,Isaac: I've seen a lot of ships but never anything like these. Norton: That's because the Sovereign Colonies were sore losers. When they lost the Secession War to EarthGov, they scuttled their entire fleet. I'm surprised any survived. Rosen: What were they doing this far from home anyway? Isaac: If this is where Ellie went, you can bet it had something to do with the Markers. ---Chapter 3: The RoanokeDead Space 3: Chapter 3: The Roanoke the colonies send an expedition out to the planet in the hopes of finding Markers for their flagging campaign.Dead Space 3: Chapter 4: History's Ember Now an "icy backwater planet",[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEVmDaDM5xw Youtube: Dead Space 3 - The Story so Far] the environment of Tau Volantis is harsh, and visited frequently by snow storms. These conditions complicate vehicular or on-foot travel for research teams and soldiers; the combination of strong winds, freezing temperatures and thigh-high snow often stalling travel altogether. When the expedition unearths the corpses of the aliens changed by the Necromorph organism, it isn't long before that expedition itself succumbs to the influence of the Markers. When Major General Spencer Mahad loses complete control of the situation in 2314, the Sovereign Colonies council authorizes Scenario Five; a "first contact" scenario that entails the death of all parties involved with the expedition in a move to prevent hostiles from reaching the Earth.Dead Space 3: Chapter 11: Signal Hunting[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoLXh45Cs0g YouTube: Dead Space 3: Scenario Five] In an effort to save the information discovered on the alien's machine and Rosetta, Earl Serrano and his search team halve the body into pieces to hide.Dead Space 3: Chapter 4: History's Ember Serrano's attempts to finish the machine himself are prevented by Mahad and an accident leaves him unable to walk.Dead Space 3: Prologue: Beginnings The expedition is lost. Two hundred years pass; the derelict Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces flotilla floats above the planet in ruins, its crew lost to the ravages of the planet and their fellow man under orders from their government. Outposts, industrial areas, research facilities and way stations scattered throughout the frozen environment are mere remnants of what was an established settlement on the planet. The frozen Tau Volantis' terrain appears to be made up of catacombs, sweeping cliffs and caves. Research found by Serrano suggests that the terrain of the planet may have been the home of marine life. |-|Events of Dead Space 3= Two hundred years later in 2514 fragmented marker research left behind by the Sovereign Colonies led data archaeologist, Damara Carver, to the rediscovery of the forgotten planet.Dead Space: Liberation Cobbling together what portions of information she could recover, Damara gathered information substantial enough for Earth Government Captain Robert Norton and Titan Station survivor, Ellie Langford to use to their advantage in the effort to destroy the source of the Necromorphs.Dead Space: Liberation Unfortunately, her findings became a target of interest for the Church of Unitology and she was killed in their search for the information.Dead Space: Liberation Langford's efforts to reach the planet urges Captain Norton and Sergeant John Carver to enlist ''Ishimura survivor, Isaac Clarke's help under the advisement of Langford.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXhaO1IbXrE Youtube: Dead Space 3 - Two Ways to Play Trailer]Dead Space 3: Chapter 1: Rude Awakening Above the planet they assume Tau Volantis is the "Marker Homeworld", the origin of the Necromorphs. On the planet however, further exploration into the Sovereign Colonies fragmented data reveals Tau Volantis once was the center of a "Marker Uprising" that was subsequently halted before it could progress any further some two million years ago.Dead Space 3: Chapter 4: History's Ember For that reason, militarized followers of the Church led by Jacob Danik aim to stop Clarke and Langford from reaching the source and destroy all changes of true Convergence. The planet is overrun by Necromorph lifeforms, all who appear to have adopted new ways of attacking unsuspecting victims with the use of their own weapons and deceiving appearances. Wasters and Feeders are some of the hostile lifeforms encountered by survivors on the planet. The nature of the Necromorphs formed with human bodies are largely same in behavior and appearances as the ones previously engaged on Aegis VII, the Ishimura and Titan Station. Further down below, however, creatures akin to the Snow Beast, and the Nexus emerge, revealing the fate of the planet's original inhabitants were the ones that halted the Convergence Event that required the sacrifice of their lives to stop. Though Danik is initially successful in restarting the Convergence Event, the combined efforts of Clarke and Carver result in the death of the sentient moon and the complete halt of the Marker signal.Dead Space 3: Chapter 18: Kill or Be KilledDead Space 3: Chapter 19: Endings Following the death of the Moon, Clarke and Carver eventually wake up to discover they have survived their freefall onto the planet's surface. At this point the moon, although dead and no longer broadcasting its signal, rests atop the planet's surface, remaining largely intact. The destruction of the machine seems to have no effect on the planet's weather and despite the death of the Moon, the necromorphs inhabiting the planet still exist, fueled by the long-range signals of the newly-awakend Brethren Moons. Geography and Ecology Long before the Marker landed on the planet, Tau Volantis was presumably an aquatic planet with vast oceans covering the surface. Aside from the carvernous caverns and "cities" erected by the planet's former inhabitants, fathomless gorges and trenches runs along the ocean bed which now serves as tall cliffs and mountains. Once the Aliens activated their Machine, the whole planet was flash-frozen, plunging it into an endless snowstorm and apparently rendering the natives extinct. Although no other species aside from the indigenous Aliens have been confirmed as natives to the planet, The Snow Beast is presumed to be a local creature, though its status as a Necromorph/natural being remains unclear. An odd point about Tau Volantis is that its atmosphere is completely breathable to humans despite its complete lack of trees and natural oxygen factories, though the Sovereign Colonies's scientists might have probably terraformed the planet somehow to provide air, or that its natural ecosystem contains oxygen within travelling air. Etymology "Tau" (ταῦ) is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet and symbolizes life and resurrection.Tau - Wikipedia.org "Volantis" is a genitive term, derived from volans, meaning "fly" or "move swiftly".Volantis - Wikipedia.orgVolantis | Define Volantis at Dictionary.com Together, "Tau Volantis" could mean "swift resurrection", a reference to the nature of the Necromorphs. The name might also be a play on "Atlantis", referencing the mythical aquatic city in reference to Tau Volantis formally being an aquatic planet. Appearances *''Dead Space 3'' *''Dead Space: Liberation'' Gallery File:Tauvolantis 002.jpg|Landscape concept of Tau Volantis File:Tauvolantis 003.jpg File:Tauvolantis 004.jpg|A Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces encampment; note the concept of the alien crainium in the detail File:Dead space 3 1ok waystation ext.jpg File:DS3 Tau Volantis Concept 01.jpg File:2228884-uxor.jpg|Isaac and Carver observe a frozen Necromorph on the surface of Tau Volantis File:DS3 screenshot 06.jpg|Isaac caught in a firefight with Unitologist soldiers File:DS3 screenshot 02.jpg|Isaac in the Advanced Suit above Tau Volantis File:M_blogpic.jpg File:Complex1.jpg| S.C.A.F. legionary Tim Caufman views the compromised base from the Mule crash site. File:Complex.jpg|S.C.A.F Base visible from Mule Crash Site Notes References de:Tau Volantis Category:Planets Category:Locations